Australia // 7-Eleven - my home (sometimes) at nights

----- mY StOrY -----

“Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.”
― James Joyce, Ulysses

One of the things I abosolutely love is the feeling of being anonymous in a city I've never been before.

Walking around, looking whatever and not caring about speding time in observing.

It's been almost 5 years since I came back.. but who knows why.... you really never come back from a journey or...if you do... you are not the same person anymore.

Yeh... I know... a commonplace :) but damn true!!

I have actually to thank a person for that...I have never written about him and I don't even think that I'll start now to write about this person... but everyone has an epiphany in one's life and my breakup was exactly that... I usually like to define it a moment of impact... but this time I prefer to bother Joyce and to steal his words..."epiphany".

“I wanted real adventures to happen to myself. But real
adventures, I reflected, do not happen to people who remain at home: they must be sought abroad.” 
― James Joyce, Dubliners

Well... in my "wanderings", I often ended up in one of those convenience stores... sometimes it was because I was waiting for friends, some other times to take a 1-dollar-capuccino (of course... in its beautiful taking aways cup) and some other times to rest a little bit after a shift or before starting a new one.

I remember there was a standing chair just close to the windows in one of those at the corner between Elizabeth St. and Liverpool St. (in Sydney -- btw, is it still there?) and while sipping my capuccino... I was spending my time in observing people running everywhere... I loved that. That was my first 7-Eleven "meeting".

---------------------------------------------

Out of curiosity I made some research and I have just learned that it is a Japanese-American international chain of convenience stores founded in 1927 as Tote' m Stores.

In 1946, it changed its name into "7-Eleven", for the opening times from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, seven days per week. The first convenience store was born after a Southland Ice Co employee in Dallas started selling milk, eggs and bread from an ice dock.

Today (June 2019), the chain has grown to about 68,000 stores in 17 countries (more than McDonald's just to have an idea). Customers can grab drinks, snacks and everyday products on the go. Its main core is to meet the market needs. It has actually become a real case study. 7-Eleven is a very good example of how a brand needs to and benefit from adapting to a local market.

What does it mean "to adapt to a local market"?

For example, customers in Taiwan can service their bicycles or photocopy at a local 7-Eleven, in Hong Kong they can pay their phone and utility bills, and in the US they can pick-up their online Amazon shopping there.

The first 7-Eleven in Australia opened on August 24, 1977, in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh, Victoria. One of the main traits of the Australian stores opened in suburban areas was that to operate as petrol stations.

Actually, in 2010, 7-Eleven bought Mobil's remaining Australian petrol stations, converting them to 7-Eleven outlets, resulting in a huge success.

Well...there are other things to tell about its history and its development, but it'll be for another time... now I'm getting a bit tired :)

Just a note:

Each year on November 7, 7-Eleven promotes "7-Eleven Day" by giving away a free Slurpee to customers. - so please... do not forget to get yours!!

A man who swears to do something which it is not in his power to do is not accounted a sane man. ― James Joyce, Stephen Hero 

Australia // Somehow I found myself collecting cups...

"Life happens, Coffee helps"

--- mY sTory ---

That's it... I can't even remember how happened, but it did happen (it was in Sydney btw). 


Here in Italy there is not much that culture - unfortunately. I mean...I love hanging out at cafes, smelling the perfume of fresh coffee beans and spending hours admiring people in their "traffic". But...

at the same time.. 

...I even like running from one part to the other of the city holding a cup ...one of the greatest satisfactions in life (at least for me).

I remember that in one of my several jobs there, I have also worked as a cashier at a coffee shop. And once...a guy said "Oh.. s*** the bus is here, it doesn't matter for the coffee .. I ll take another time" (it was already paid, almost done) and... I just ran straight away outside from the bar and I handed the taking away cup while he was taking the ticket on the bus and I will never forget his words "YOU MADE MY DAY"... I was so happy to hear that cos... it is exactly what happens to me when I have coffee in the morning...


"Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars..."


But let's go back to the cups...
For sure they were pretty cool, full of colors and nice indie fonts....yeah...I know... I follow the crowds...but honestly... I like being in the system ;) I always think that it is the way you live it that makes it all another stuff. I guess I got about 80 empty and dirty taking aways cups, hidden (for the joy of my flatmates) a bit everywhere...When it was time to travel back home I had two choices:

EITHER - to bring all of them with me 
OR....
- to take funny pictures and leave them there... (not at the beach of course ;)

Joanna was there with me (miss you!) and she supported me :)

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers"

Europeans do not normally know that an Australian coffee culture really exists. And as an Italian... I was just saying...no way...we know how to make real coffee... but... I was wrong!


I myself was a bit skeptical when I was told the various tecniques and coffees there. I thougt that they just had an Americano, while as you can see from this chart, you can get quite confused. I think... If I remember well, it's all a matter of coffee amount and froth consistency (??).. please Lance (the barista at the coffee shop where I used to work) correct me if I am not expressing myself in the proper way...

So I have learned that there are: double shot, latte, flat white (my fav), mocha, long black, mugaccino (a capuccino served in a mug - nice word) and that there are lot of types of milk you can choose for your beautiful take away cup (soy, skim, almond, rice, whole...). 

The hardest part of all this was to understand what the hell an aussie was saying to write it down on the cup and ending always with "cheers" (for this read my other post: "Let stalk strine, the Aussie slang - part I").

For today... I guess I am done... tired.. but next time I will have a couple of words on the most popular coffees brand there (Campos, Aromas, Allpress, Vittoria etc.)



And remember... that "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" lol ;)

The answer my friend is blowing in the Gumtree!

Ciao a tutti, amici miei!
(Hallo to everyone, my friends!)

Well, it's one of those rainy days in Milano and it's time to set my mind off for another trip. Australia is so far but one of my friend I met during my East coast travel (Julia) is going to come to Milan for the New Year's Eve and it will be fun to share some nice memories together.

That's why I feel the urge to add one more chapter to my story. And having a look back to some pictures I took there I found the paper of a fortune cookie I had once at the Fox Studios @ Moore Park. It was saying:

"You are kind hearted, hospitable, cheerful and well liked"

It's something I always wish for myself.

There is even a nice story about the time I was @ the Fox Studios, but that is another lucky story I will tell you on another day :)

As a city traveller I like to share what I've lernt while travelling and so far I've not talked about the most important thing, that is what you need in that crazy jungle ... that is money.

If money is important to all of us, you cannot even imagine the importance in Sydney. According to some surveys Sydney was in the first 10 most expensive cities in the world in 2014 (which was the year I was there). However it looks like the situation has changed for this year due to a weaker Australian dollar ... not good.

But let's go back to money.

How can you find that? Easy... by working.

There are different web-sites. The most popular for the travellers community is Gumtree.

Gumtree is an interesting tool not only to look for a job but also if you need a room to rent or to buy things at a good price. It's def the bible for everything.

This website was born from the minds of two entrepreneurs (Simon Crookall and Michael Pennington), who had the idea to set up a classified ads website for Aussies, Kiwies and South Africans arriving in the City.

---- mY sToRY ----

It was ... WeDnEsDaY, 18th JuNe 2014

During my first week there I was 24/7 on Gumtree. After only five days I managed to have my first place and job. GREAT!

I remember it was really hard to find a decent room for a good price. I was so sad that for 200 bucks I was only able to find a bed in a sunroom or in a tent in the living room. Can you believe that?

But in the end I got to Randwick (Eastern Suburbs) where I met three awesome guys (Robert, Max and Justin). It's a pity I didn't take a picture with them all... because they are really great! I miss you guys..

Some friends of mine at my birthday party - 9th June 2015

That evening... I still remember... we had a nice cup of coffee together and I understood from the very first moment it was THAT my place.

And I met these nice people thanks to Gumtree.

And thanks to it I started my adventure.

                                                   

Medicare

16th June 2014 (MoNdAy) -  ThE MeDiCaRe

Picture taken on 9 August '14, somewhere in Sydney

G'day, mates!! Remember that:

"Nothing is impossible the word itself says I'm possible" 

Today I'll go back to those famous first steps to take once you arrive in Australia. So here we are.


Checklist:

1. a bank account (see my previous post)

2. sim card (see my previous post)
3. health insurance

Every time we travel we need both a travel and health insurance. In Australia the medical system relies on the so-called Medicare.



It provides access to medical and hospital services for all Australian residents and certain categories of visitors to Australia, coming from New Zealand, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, ITALY, Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and Norway.

The agreements between Australia and those Countries allow:

- Australian residents to get help with the cost of essential medical treatment when visiting these countries 

- residents of  these countries can get some essential medical treatments while visiting Australia.

What you need to do as Italian citizen is to go to the ASL (a kind of Local Health Authority of your town) and ask for the"Accordo di reciprocità tra l'Italia e l'Australia in materia di assistenza sanitaria" (Reciprocal Health Care Agreements).

---- VERY VERY IMPORTANT ----

This agreement lasts for the first six months, after that you need to purchase a private insurance. The supplementary insurance of the months left on your visa has to  be purchased in advance when you are still in your homecountry.

Picture taken on 26 September '14 - CBD, Sydney

In December I discovered that it was much more expensive to buy one there, so I decided to think positive and I was sure I didn't need one :)

But PLS do not do that!

So to sum up, what you have to do is:

- going to the ASL office of your hometown and request the Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

- purchase the remaining six-month insurance

- once in Australia go to FAMILY CARE DPTM, they are almost everywhere in Sydney. I went on 16 June to the Town Hall Arcade (464-480 Kent St.). I've just found the note on my agenda.

There you need:
- your passport and a valid visa
- identification card showing you are enrolled in your country's national health scheme (tessera sanitaria italiana)

If your Medicare application is approved, you will receive an Australian reciprocal health care card in the mail in two weeks' time :)

Follow this link to find your closest medicare in Sydney.